Which organization sets accreditation standards for healthcare facilities that include addressing workplace violence?

• A. World Health Organization
• B. National Institutes of Health
• C. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• D. Joint Commission

Answer: (D)

Accreditation bodies establish safety and quality standards for healthcare facilities, and in the United States the primary organization that develops and enforces those standards is the Joint Commission. Its accreditation program covers a broad range of patient and staff safety topics, including how facilities address workplace violence. Hospitals and clinics must have documented policies, risk assessments, staff training, incident reporting, and corrective actions to mitigate violence and protect workers. Because Joint Commission accreditation is widely recognized and CMS uses it to satisfy Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements, it is the organization most closely associated with standards that explicitly include workplace-violence measures.

World Health Organization sets international health guidelines but does not accredit individual healthcare facilities. NIH focuses on research and does not issue facility accreditation standards. CMS regulates Medicare/Medicaid participation and may recognize accrediting bodies, but it does not set the broad accreditation standards for facilities in the same way as the Joint Commission.